A man with suspected ties to the Islamic State terror group who was allegedly planning a firearms attack on the Israeli embassy in Berlin has been arrested.
Police and other security forces detained the man on Saturday in the town of Bernau, just outside the German capital, and conducted a search of his home there, the Federal Prosector’s Office said in a statement.
It said the suspect is a Libyan national whom officials identified only as Omar A.
“He intended to carry out a high-profile attack with firearms on the Israeli embassy in Berlin,” the statement said.
In his planning, the statement added, “the accused exchanged information with a member of IS in a messenger chat”.
Another search was carried out in the home of a person who is considered a witness and not a suspect, the prosecutor office’s statement said.
“Our security authorities struck in time to thwart possible plans to attack the Israeli Embassy in Berlin,” interior minister Nancy Faeser said in a statement.
“This shows that protecting Jewish and Israeli institutions in our country is vital and of the utmost importance to us.”
A police car in Sankt Augustin. Pic: AP
The suspect was expected to appear before an investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe, the country’s highest court, on Sunday, the prosecutor’s office said.
Newspaper Bild first reported on the case, saying a heavily armed elite police unit stormed the suspect’s home in Bernau.
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German authorities were acting on a tip-off from a foreign intelligence agency, according to the newspaper.
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“We are acting with the utmost vigilance and attention in view of the high threat posed by Islamist, antisemitic and anti-Israel violence,” Ms Faeser said.
Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor thanked the German security authorities “for ensuring the security of our embassy”.
